Recent estimates indicate that around 25,000 Tamils from both Sri Lanka and India are living in Italy.
[1][2] Though it is not established when the migration of Tamil people to Italy started, Tamils were reported to have migrated to Milan during the 1980s.
[3] More migrants came during the Sri Lankan Civil War, which commenced in 1983.
It is estimated that Sri Lankan Tamils constitute at least a third of the Sri Lankan immigrants in Italy.
[3] The Tamil Diaspora is concentrated predominantly in Palermo, Catania, Milan, Reggio Emilia, Naples, Bologna and Lecce, where a number of cultural and linguistic organizations are based.